Christmas has arrived. I have been to my first Christmas party for the year and invitations to others are flooding in.

Office Christmas parties are a time for staff to let their hair down, enjoy themselves and relax at the end of what has no doubt been a busy and demanding year.

There are times however where employees take the informality of a social office gathering a little too far and quickly find themselves in hot water.  More...

New Zealanders have been shocked by recent developments in the "Roast Busters" investigation being undertaken by New Zealand police.

Members of a Facebook group calling themselves Roast Busters have boasted online about getting young women drunk and engaging in sexual activity with them, without consent. Some of the victims are believed to have been under age.  More...

COMMODORE Kevin Keat was recently dismissed from the Defence Force following an affair with an unnamed female civilian subordinate. At the time of his dismissal he was the assistant chief of personnel – the navy’s third highest position.

This saga has two different aspects to it. The first is the sexual relationship with the subordinate which went on for a reasonable length of time. The affair commenced in 2008 and Keat, who is married, claimed it ended in 2010. The woman disagreed and claimed it went through to December 2012.  More...

Many readers will have found themselves locked out of work as a result of the recent Wellington earthquakes.

Many businesses, particularly those in the CBD's high-rise buildings, had to send staff home for a few days. Some buildings that I can see from my office are still empty. Employers will have lost productivity while workers, potentially, lost pay. But who carries the loss for this so-called act of God? The building owner, the employer or the worker?  More...

Many readers will be following the enthralling battle for the America's Cup between Emirates Team NZ and Oracle Team USA in San Francisco. It has been 10 long years since Team NZ lost the cup to Swiss syndicate Alinghi, so here's hoping we will finally see it return. It is not just the racing that has been in the news, however; many readers will also have followed the cheating scandal that enveloped the weeks leading up to the America's Cup match.  More...

New Zealand women have a history of actively pursuing their rights. In 1893 New Zealand was the first self-governing country to give women the vote. One hundred and 20 years later a Lower Hutt rest-home worker is continuing the tradition, this time for equal pay. Kristine Bartlett has become the beacon of hope for low-paid women in the aged-care sector who are seeking to breathe life into the provisions of the Equal Pay Act 1972.  More...

It has been an eventful couple of weeks in the world of employment relations. We have seen significant safety legislative reforms unveiled as well as some colourful disputes expose human frailty. The most important development is, of course, the proposed changes to health and safety law recently announced by Labour Minister Simon Bridges.  More...

Sports stars and their coaches at the highest level are international celebrities. So much of what they do ends up on the front pages of the world's media.  Coaches are employed on contracts that can be event based or results driven. Steve Hansen, the All Blacks coach, for example, is employed until the end of the Rugby World Cup. Whether his employment continues may well depend on how the team performs at rugby's showcase event.  A successful coach may get a knighthood - look at Sir Graham Henry and Sir Alex Ferguson, whereas those who don't perform will often lose their positions and be forced to go quietly.  However, there are some who don't.  More...

Readers will be aware that the Government has proposed several changes to the Employment Relations Act - changes which have aroused the ire of the unions.  Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Helen Kelly has called for select committee hearings throughout the country. Despite submissions on the changes closing on July 25, the CTU plans to embark on several months of campaigning, including nationwide rallies.  More...